This lot is offered without reserve. Many of the … Read more

Breitling. A Large Stainless Steel Pilot's Chronograph Wristwatch with Black Dial

Signed Breitling, Navitimer, Ref. 806, Case No. 995’357, Circa 1964

Details

Breitling. A Large Stainless Steel Pilot's Chronograph Wristwatch with Black Dial
Signed Breitling, Navitimer, Ref. 806, Case No. 995’357, Circa 1964
MOVEMENT: manual, cal. Venus 178, 17 jewels
DIAL: black, luminous baton and Arabic 12 numerals, luminous hands, two outer tachometre scales for miles per hour and kilometers, three silvered sunken engine-turned subsidiary dials for 12 hour and 30 minute registers and constant seconds
CASE: stainless steel, bezel with inner revolving slide-rule bezel on silvered chapter ring, faceted downturned lugs, two round chronograph buttons in the band, snap on back, 40 mm. diam.
SIGNED: case, dial and movement

Special Notice

This lot is offered without reserve. Many of the watches offered for sale in this catalogue are pictured with straps made of endangered or protected animal materials such as alligator or crocodile. These endangered species straps are shown for display purposes only and are not for sale. Christie’s will remove and retain the strap prior to shipment from the sale site. At some sale sites, Christie’s may, at its discretion, make the displayed endangered species strap available to the buyer of the lot free of charge if collected in person from the sale site within 1 year of the date of the sale. Please check with the department for details on a particular lot.

Lot Essay

Based on the success of the "Chronomat", Breitling and the AOPA (Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association) decided to develop a revolutionary watch featuring a chronograph and navigation tool, the slide rule, allowing pilots and navigators the easy calculation of remaining distances, fuel consumption etc. The name was a combination of the words Navigation & Timer and the model was available as of 1954 when the "Navitimer" became the official watch of the AOPA (Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association) and the "wing" logo of the association was added to the dial instead of the Breitling "B". The first models did not have a reference number but only the engraved inscription "Breitling" and logo "B" engraved on the back. In 1955, reference number 806 was assigned and the Valjoux calibre 72 was exchanged against the Venus 178. The dial, including the subsidiary dials, was all black, the bezel was named "beads of rice" because of its shape. The "Navitimer" remained in production with this configuration until the early 1960s.

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